


Promise

by starrika



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Complete, F/M, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-17
Updated: 2008-06-17
Packaged: 2017-11-05 15:52:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/408236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrika/pseuds/starrika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"If you are cold at night, let the promise of my love cover you like a warm blanket." </p>
<p>Lavender has been perpetually chilled since the battle, but the promise of something more warms her heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise

Lavender had felt a perpetual chill since the attack at Hogwarts, with her own personal Dementors sucking away at her happiness. At first, it had been the pain. She'd managed to survive her injuries, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. There was no simple wave of the wand to perfectly heal internal injuries, and she'd been mauled in too many places to simply witch her skin and bones together. It took months for her to feel whole again.

And then she looked in a mirror, for the first time in the six months since the accident, and Lavender felt broken once more. She was _ugly_.

When she returned to Hogwarts, the other students stared, and sometimes she would even catch a first year (or a fifth year) staring at her in the common room of Gryffindor Tower. It made her feel like a curiosity, a relic of the fight that too many wanted to forget already. There had been others injured, others with scars, but nothing to extent of her injuries (or as visible). Lavender quickly realized that scarves and high collars were her friends.

With her scars covered, Lavender could pretend to be bubbly and silly, as if the past year hadn't happened. Even Parvati would sometimes roll her eyes and tell her to grow up, and Lavender had to bite her lip to keep from blurting out that she already _had_. It was easier to pretend she didn't have a care in the world. When she smiled and laughed at Seamus' antics, she almost felt warm inside.

It was almost enough, until she let herself get wheedled into a double date with Parvati and Seamus. She had let Michael Corner win her over – the vestiges of her boy crazy squealing from before were too tempting to pass by. She hoped the giddiness she half-felt would warm her. Instead, she was doused in ice water. A trip to the loo had her overhear him talking to Terry Boot about her face, and how he realized, once he was closer, how bad it was. He couldn't possibly kiss her, not with her scars so close to his face and no one knew how far down they went, but it couldn't possibly be pretty and - _oh_. Lavender had heard enough.

After a nice cutting hex aimed at Corner's face, she left Hogsmeade and retreated to the tower. She finished her last two months at Hogwarts a veritable recluse, preferring to sneak her meals from the kitchen than eat in the Great Hall. Parvati tried her best to pull her out of her funk, but Lavender was stubborn. When she declared that she wouldn't want to ruin their meals with her ugly face, she couldn't help but shiver.

When she ran into Neville Longbottom in Diagon Alley, four years after finishing school, the last thing she expected to feel was genuine warmth. He took her hand and smiled at her, turning her into a babbling fifteen year old once more. He ogled her chest a few times, but his gaze never lingered on her scars. And when he walked her back to her flat, he didn't even wait for her to say she'd had a good time. His lips were on her mouth, his hands winding round her neck and in her hair and _oh_.

Lavender suddenly felt very warm.


End file.
